Things are going according to my plan. We’re only one game into the season, but the Raptors are gunning. I must admit, I was skeptical about the team during training camp since folks were injured and the game-play was lethargic, but the Raps found their on-switch, and took it right at LeBron et al. The Raptors beat the Cavs for the first time in two years in convincing fashion. Sure the Cavs don’t match up well against us with all them slow 7 footers and the rest of the lot (tell me you didn’t crack a smile or laugh maniacally when Moon took those jumpers, lol).
The difference between the elite teams and the rest is that they have the tools/desire to make a run to draw things even. With the Raptors up 18 heading into half-time, Mike Brown must have delivered a Braveheart level speech that inspired LeBron & Co. to go on a run to start the 3rd, and bring the game within 7. They even tied the game at 69 when it happened, the Raptors regrouped and went on a run to finish the game. That’s what good teams do, they don’t fold. It isn’t something we are used to seeing, but BC, for one game at least, looks like he has built us a team to be proud of.
The Grizzlies on the other hand had a pretty rough start to the season at the hands of the Pistons. What did our TrueHoop brothers at 3 Shades of Blue (a great blog btw) have to say:
Wow. That was just horrible. HORRIBLE … Laziness, lack of polish, lack of coaching preparation? … A rough start. VERY rough. Couldn’t have been any rougher, really.
Losing to the Pistons was once something that didn’t upset folks, but not so much anymore. Dumars has done an equally good job of blowing up this team as he did building a championship one. Whatever, I’m just happy that the Raptors have the ability to solidify a great opening season win, with a follow-up one to a lesser team. For all the quality young talent this Memphis team has, they aren’t very good, Iverson seems incognito too for some reason.
Match-ups
Calderon vs Conley
I don’t like Jose running the off-guard with Jack at the point, he is almost invisible, but he had a decent game overall. His shot wasn’t falling, and he missed one less free throw then all of last season, but he got the rest of the Raps involved and dropped 11 dimes. He needs to attack Conley, who is coming off one of his worst games as a Grizzly, and not let up. Fortunately, Conley wont provide much in terms of defense, so Jose should be able to take advantage of the sophomore.
The Edge: Calderon
DeRozan vs Mayo
Easily the most exciting match-up of the game. It will be fun to watch these two chasing each other around. Both are athletic and can get up and down the court quickly. DeRozan, by my count, had a great debut. He hit key shots, slashed to the rim, grabbed a couple boards, and made things tough for Parker. Mayo is a machine that didn’t have a good shooting night. You can bet he will come out gunning, and take it right at at our rook.
The Edge: Mayo
Turkoglu vs Gay
Our big FA acquisition did well in the opener considering he missed most of the pre-season. He wasn’t shooting great (3-7), but dropped 12pts 7rebs 3ast 3blks…I’ll take it. Gay was one of those guys that pained me to see: what could have been right (not so much anymore though if Bargs keeps this up)? He is the long, athletic, durable and can score, but I have a hankering that Hedo will take a big step forward tonight playing that high pick-n-roll with Bosh/Bargnani.
The Edge: Even
Bosh vs Randolph
Bosh looks to have found his niche in the Cavs win. He’s an elite player, but not one who carries the team offensively. He is a complimentary offensive player, but his defense and rebounding was off the charts as far as I’m concerned. Against Z-Bo, I don’t expect much otherwise. Zach will get his 20-10, but he’s a black hole. His impact on the game is strictly statistical, and I don’t expect it to be much different tonight.
The Edge: Bosh
Bargnani vs Gasol
How YOU doin? Shaq, tell me how VL’s ass tastes! Bargs was a one man wrecking crew. He owned Shaq/Varejao/Ilgauskas all night (when he wasn’t sitting on the bench due to foul trouble). He took his man off the bounce, hit 3s in transition, created his own shot, and grabbed a couple boards. Efficient and deadly, Gasol is a stud, but a slow one. 21pts 15rebs in 30min against the Pistons. Those are scary numbers, but he will have his hands full trying to play Bargs from the 3pt line in. Expect a lot of what we saw with the Cavs: Bargnani having his way. It will take getting used to, but Bargs will own a lot of centers this year, makes me giddy.
The Edge: Bargnani
The Bench
Memphis has Thabeet on their, by default their bench sucks. I still laugh when I think about them taking Thabeet with dudes like Harden, Rubio and everyone else not named Blake was available, lol. The Raptors bench on the other hand was solid. Belinelli scored at will, Wright had swagger and Jack made Calderon a bit nervous. How bad was the Memphis bench against the Pistons: they contributed 11pts 14rebs…8 guys contributed less then what Gasol did as an individual.
The Edge: Raptors
Injury Report
Raptors
Reggie Evans
Sonny Weems
Grizzlies
Allen Iverson**
The Line
The line is set at Raps -4 (-105) with an over/under of 195.
Keys to Winning
- Attack Gasol from the opening tip, need to make Thabeet and Haddadi play big minutes tonight
- Box out Randolph and Gasol – have to limit those boards
- Let Randolph score as many as he wants, he does a good job of disrupting the offensive flow of his own team
Prediction
The Grizz have nice-young talent up and down this roster, but they don’t have much of a team. You have to figure when they took Thabeet at #2 that they aren’t really serious about winning to begin with. The Raptors will get off to an 2-0 start, this should be like shooting fish in a barrel.
71 Raps
doc rivers?
He also said the Griz lost to the Celtics.
Yeah I was wondering why the coach of another team was in the cavs locker room at half…is there somewhere we can lodge a complaint on behalf of the raps…that has to be illegal
Thanks, changed.
Sonny Weems is still injured.
It’s key that we win this one, good teams just have to be teams they are better than and the Raptors are better than Memphis.
Let’s see how this “new” team responds to playing sub-par teams. Every time we’d get a big win against a team we wouldn’t normally beat last season and seasons before that, we’d follow it up with a piss poor performance. :(
Seeing how its “Devil’s Night” tonight, I want blood. Muwahahahaha!!!
Yup, makes me nervous. this might be the game to see how the team really is made of when they face a “lesser” team after a big win against the lebronks.
you forgot to include iverson in the injury report.
first donaghy’s revelations, and now this. this guy gets no respect. expect him to have a renaissance year.
I hope he does. It would be a shame if he went out like a fart in the wind.
Braveheart rules!!!
Iverson has been cleared to play tonight, but he isn’t 100% going to play. Stay tuned.
What is it about Jack that Belinelli cannot do? Why is Jack playing 31′ (6 pts, 3 ass.) and Belinelli 17′ (10 pts, 2 ass.)? Belinelli is taller, more athletic, same defender, better creator and better shooter than Jack. Jack should be taking only PG back-up minutes and DeRozan, Belli and Wright all the minutes at SG. If this means to play Jose only 30′ and give Jack 18′ so be it. The experiment with Jose and Jack doesn’t work and we have better players. I hope this is just an experiment at the beginning of the season and things will become normal once the sseason gets older.
I’m sure it has to do with Triano finding a proper rotation. I was surprised Belinelli didn’t get more burn against the Cavs considering how well he played.
You know what you get out of Jack every game. Belli you dont. That is incredible important over the course of the season.
I wouldnt agree that Belli is a better creator than Jack… and Marcos shooting is game to game. But when he is on its a thing of beauty.
That said I also have not been a fan of Jose and Jack out there together (atleast for extended minutes). But you gotta give that Jack in never afraid to take the ball to the hole… and if Jose shoots like last year the combination COULD be lethal.
Jarret Jack provides more leadership on the court. He brings swagger and takes it at the other team hard (even though this sometimes results in in turnovers, he puts the presure on defences). The other thing about Jack is that he talks on defence. Its funny when you’re watching a game on TV and you can hear Jarret Jack defending in the post yelling out to his wing “down screen Antoine”. I heard this through the television! Its these subtle things that makes a group cohesive that the team is looking for. It goes a long way.
As for Belli, he’ll get his turn. Its a long season and he’ll get his chance to shine eventually. All in due time, its only been one game! I like the fact that he’s been the last guy in the gym in practice working on his shot.
I love the Jack signing and I love that we stole Belinelli and Wright, and signed DeRozan. All great work, however I could not agree with you more that Jack should primarily back up Jose and play more minutes against faster opposing PG’s. The Jose and Jack on the same floor thing sucks…most of our poor play against Cleveland was when they were both on the floor. It was truly the only coaching decision Triano made that made me cringe ( like when we had Moon jack up shots) and think he was doing a Sam Mitchell. The other three guys will all play the 2 or 3 way better than either Jose or Jack so make it happen.
I say let the matchups and the flow of the game dicate whether Jack should be playing with Jose vs. backing him up. The game is all about match ups. If by playing Jose and Jack together for a couple streches, we can exploit a weakness in another team, then I’m all for it. If it become a liability than it should not be used, but then I trust that if I notice it is a liability, than Triano is well aware and will make the necessary adjustments. We have depth and versitility. Lets enjoy it.
Another positive thing that will happen with Beli is the fact that Andrea knows the importance of a mentor on the team (he missed Garbo badly in his second year) so he will take that responsability with Marco.
Too early to call on the Pistons.
Their defense or lack thereof will be the key to them getting a top 4 seed in the playoffs this year.
Preseason their defense was eratic. Against the Griz it looked pretty good. Anytime you hold a home team to under 75 points you have to be doing something right no matter how bad the home team played.
I think the key to them this year is whether Wallace has anything left and whether CV can play any consistent defense. If they can get good defense from those two they have a very good chance to make it into the top 4 come playoff time.
I totally disagree dude. Wallace hasn’t had anything in the tank for years. The pistons can score but they have no front court help. They’ll be lucky to make the playoffs I think.
Celtics, Orlando, Cavs, Bulls, Raps, Hawks, and Philly definitaly have better teams. Where does that leave Detroit in the East?
Wallace has been a reliable defender for a long time. He may not be at the same level he was during his original stint with the Pistons, but that doesnt mean he still isnt solid on D.
I do agree though that their chances of making the playoffs are slim. You can blame Joe D for that though… not Wallace.
rasheed now plays for the celtics.
They mean Ben Wallace, who was bought out by Phoenix and resigned with the Pistons.
Saying the experiment with Jack and Calderon doesn’t work is a little bit premature, don’t you think.
Belinelli will get his opportunity, but other players had better pre-season play.
Think we matchup positively against the Grizz – two and oh to start the year.
Everything right now is premature. We need to stop riding this up and down emotional roller coaster that we subject ourselves to every season. Just take the games one at a time and remember what the players did collectively, rather than just what they’ve done lately.
Very important Raps win tonight. I know it is game 2, but seriously, the Bulls are looking good and we cannot let up in a much better Eastern Conference. If we were happy about beating LeBron, I can’t imagine how happy the Bulls were beating the Spurs. They looked young, athletic and hungry.
If the Raps do not fall asleep on the boards tonight, we can pull out a win. If Gasol hammers us on the offensive glass, it could be a long night.
Question:
Is Wright going to become our primary backup SF to Hedo?
To me, this makes sense in the backcourt:
Calderon / Jack
DeRozan / Belinelli / Wright
Hedo / Wright
Wright showed some excellent team defence, rotating properly (a change from our usual wing-play) and hassling his man. His offence was unpolished, but forgivable. Should he be in the floor with Hedo, or backup Hedo? I wonder what Triano decides.
I don’t buy that the Spurs are a top 5 league team this year. Jefferson never really impressed and while they still have a few pieces and Pops, I don’t think it will be enough. I’m ready to be proven wrong, but I just don’t see what all those ESPN analysts are raving about.
uh, the spurs don’t have pops – the rockets do.
I’m sure Dariend meant Popovich…the coach, not Mensah-Bonsu
Yeah Mensah-Bonsu is cool and all, but I know which one I’d rather have..
IF they stay healthy, I think the Spurs can win it all. Of course, that’s a big IF
I disagree. Even if they remain healthy for the entire season (which I sincerely doubt given the age of all their veterans) I don’t think they can hang with the likes of LA, Portland, Dallas, Boston, or Orlando. I don’t believe they can handle ANY of those teams, pound for pound. DeJuan Blair is impressing my socks off, but he’s not getting his shot at a ring this year.
Might be getting a little too excited over the Cavs win. Firstly, I don’t know who VL is and the comment seems a little tasteles and unnecessary to me. Just my opinion. Bargnani played a great game – thrilled about his aggressiveness, but his consistency was always the problem. Not his potential. Let’s give that some time first before we start suggesting he’s going to own many of the centre’s in the league.
How can the moniker VL be tasteless and unnecesssary if you don’t know what it means?
VL = Vegetable Lasagna (from Seinfeld fame) = Bargnani. I think it’s genius, although if he plays with consistent determination it may need to be dropped.
I’m pretty sure he was referring to the comment “tell me how VL’s ass taste?” And I’m guessing he doesn’t realize the connection to Shaq rapping about Kobe after they lost to the Celtics.
It’s hard to fathom just how little respect the way above average veteran Hedo Turkoglu gets.
After effectively guarding the best player in the game, Again!
The call is he’s even against Rudy Gay?
Is there anybody Turkoglu is going to be rated as an advantage against?
I think the 10 year veteran who puts up good numbers on a great team always has the advantage over the 3 year player putting up similar numbers on a 20 win team.
I thought Hedo played well, but the rest of the Cavs were rendered pretty useless. James still put up a solid tirple-double. I may be biased towards Gay as I really like the kid, but Turkoglu is still working the kinks out of his game. Had he already been gunning for a few weeks, this would have been a different edge for sure. I just don’t see him dominating Gay, has nothing to do with respect. We’re only two games into the season, he will have his advantages soon enough.
LeBron’s triple double is not Hedo’s fault. Hedo’s job was to make him shoot contested outside shots instead of drive, and that’s exactly what he did. LeBron shot 7-19, in large part due to Hedo and Wright’s defense.
I’m not saying he will dominate Gay, but it’s probably that the effect Hedo has on the game will be more influential than Gay’s (of course, Hedo doesn’t have to deal with Z-Bo on his team…)
Look, if you take 19 shots, you’ll get 20 points. LeBron was super inefficient, and thats what you want. LeBron getting rebounds and assists is nothing to do with Hedo. Not all of the 7-19 was Hedo either, but scoring 23 is not impressive when its done on 19 shots, thats excellent defense.
It isnt about the amount of points you get its about how many possessions you waste getting them.
I see it the same way – The author likely gave the close call to Memphis since it would appear we are dominant at every position comparitively – which is not necessarily true… It was a bit of a gimme out of respect for another NBA roster.
Well, right now you’d have to take Mayo over Derozan (as in, who is more likely to play better tonight, not who you would take as a GM).
And that is no disrespect to DeDe: Mayo was more polished when he came into the league (offensively at least), and played all the minutes he could handle last year (to the point where he hit the rookie wall BIG TIME). In four years, this might be a different story.
Other than that and the possible “Even” call on Turk VS Gay, we technically dominate the other matchups. Let’s hope that comes true in the actual game tonight.
i couldnt agree more. i thought hedo was great under the radar against the cavs. he did everything. he was clutch, played solid d, rebounded really well and was suprisingly fast. his drive in the fourth was quick! it feels like his points come at the right time and they have impact. even if a player like gay scores more points than turk, hes still going to do way more little thngs to tip the scale in his favor. bargs is my favorite raptor but i couldnt be more excited about the turkish mj! it just feels like everytime this guy has the ball in hands the right play is about to happen.this guy classes up our team in a huge way!!
As a Uconn fan i actually liked THabeet. Hes a poor mans Dikembe. Definitely not worthy of a top 10 pick though. The Grizz shoulda went PF. Not a offensively challegened center.
my eyes were playing with me…I thought it said “Turkoglu is Gay” instead of Turkoglu vs. Gay
hey guys,
iv heard this a hundred times on this site but dont understand…
VL???whats that a reference too>?? thanks
Don’t ask. It’s so childish.
Vegetable Lasagna
and yes, its dumb
Bargnani I think.
It’s a Seinfeld reference to a character called Vegtable Lasagna.
three things i’m looking for that will show mental toughness and a distinct improvement from last year:
-the raptor’s ability to play with a sense of urgency against a lesser opponent as opposed to playing down to them as we have seen so many time before
-Bargnani’s ability to play like he owns Gasol. Randolph and Thabeet and to play with consistency as opposed to complacency. he cannot take a night off.
-the raptor’s ability to play defense two games in a row. jarrett jack said after wednesday nights game that they still missed a lot of rotations and that they shouldn’t be satisfied with keeping their opponent to 35% shooting, that they should aim for 30% shooting the next game. it’s easy to show up on opening night in front of your home crowd and play tough D. how they play defense tonight on the road, will set the tone for how consistent and determined they intend to be on the defensive end all season.
I am already looking towards Sunday, it should be brutal.
Whoa easy there fella, we’ve got a game to play tonight.
I hope the Raps aren’t thinking like you are.
hahahahaha hey shaq how does VL’S ass taste?? amazing!! hahahahahaha
next time the cavs come to town someone needs to have that on a sign! BRILLIANT!
Everyone is to hard on Thabeet, I agree he shouldnt have been taking with a top pick, maybe 20th or so. But remember, the big men take time to develop. Hes raw, unrefined in the post and looks lost on defense, but you can’t teach his height, and I think with the right development he could be a solid center in 3-4 years.
Yeah, to be fair, it’s only been a few games – and people were calling Bargs a bust waaay after that, not that the two are really all that comparable in terms of their games..
Today’s game is all about Marc Iavaroni vs Damon Stoudamire
Should be a win tonight, but I’ve watched enough Raptors basketball to be so sure of it.
If I was a Grizzlies fan, I’d be furious: With a pair of young up-and-comers like Gay and Mayo, why stunt their development by bringing in two of the worst team players of the past decade, Randolph and AI? If you want to help out the young guys, bring in a couple veteran bruisers like the Raps did with AD and Oakley back in the day…
No doubt. Memphis is quickly overtaking the LA Clippers as the stupidiest franchise in the NBA.
Did everyone see melo’s dunk on millsap?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlrbJ6oG7OM
Boy looks hungry this year.
I watched the replay of the Pistons – Grizz game.
The officiating was awful just like it has been in a couple of other games that I have seen so far.
The Grizz had 4 of their starters in foul trouble within the first 8 or so minutes of the game and that was all she wrote.
With Arthur out they lose a key front court bench guy.
Without Arthur and Iverson the Grizz have a very limited bench. So the key to beating them is to get at least a couple of their starters in early foul trouble. If they can stay out of foul trouble they should give the Raptors all the Raptors can handle.
Am I the only one that is foreseeing a trade between the Cavs and the Warriors? Golden State is reportedly asking for Big Z in exchange for Captain Jack. If I’m the Cavs (seeing how their smaller lineup was great and the twin-giants lineup was aweful), I would ask for Ronny Turiaf to be thrown in to make the financial side work.
Then I would give the Cavs the following rotation:
Williams / West / Gibson
Jackson / Parker / West
James / Jackson / Moon
Varejao / Powe* / Turiaf / Hickson
O’Neal** / Varejao
* – Turiaf would be bumped up until Powe is back.
** – I would give Shaq only about 24-26 minutes a night, none of them in the last 8-10 minutes of the game.
Am I the only one that thinks that lineup is twice as good, effective, and deep as their current rotation?
Hey Raps fans, get Jay Triano’s new Basketball Basics book for your younger players and new coaches. Help support better basketball in Canada. check out the book here. http://tinyurl.com/ye2b5kf
Beat the Grizz!
where can you watch the game online
I don’t understand why people think Bargnani would be better relied on offensively than Bosh. Do you really want to rely on a guy who doesn’t get to the line and relies so much on teammates to get him shots? Bosh isn’t nearly as versatile, but he gets points no matter what. If Bargnani doesn’t shoot well, he’s not going to get his points.
And anyone interested, I have a preview of the game that starts….pretty much now,
http://www.wearingfilm.com/picketfence/2009/10/whats-next-for-the-raptors/
Why don’t our guards know how to shoot anymore? Didn’t they all have high FG%s last season?
Not sure how Jose spent his off-season — horrible preseason, quiet opener and one of the worst games I’ve seen him play tonight. Incredibly frusrating…
Bosh 37 & 12 great game !!!
We Lost !!!
The Cav win now means shit
Great start, more like. He once again settled for a stretch of jumpers (all misses) when we needed him to take it to the hoop the most. Sigh.
Bullshit Loss.
tough loss to swallow.
poor defense.
playing down to opponent.
inconsistent play from bargnani.
remnants of last year…..
let’s clean it up for sunday. big, big test.
LOOOL at the poll on the first page !!!! Some of the fans need to chill and relax before getting too emotional and …..
I am the most disappointed on the Jose who got spanked today and Triano who left him in there to be sodomize.
Great Game as usual by Bosh and Rasho.